About the photo: The Washington Senators play on Plant Field in 1923. Built in 1899, Plant Field was Tampa’s first major athletic venue. It became one of the first fields used by Major League Baseball for spring training when the Chicago Cubs started using it before the start of the 1913 season. Several teams used the field over the years, including the Washington Senators in the 1920s.

Rotary Club adopts the Tampa Baseball Museum

The Ybor City Rotary Club has “adopted” the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House as its nonprofit project for 2014-15. The Ybor City Rotary Club selects an organization or project each year to support through volunteer service and monetary donations.

Ybor City Rotary Club executive director Kris DiGiovanni gave a presentation about the Tampa Baseball Museum at the West Central Florida district meeting of the 46 rotary clubs in Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties on Saturday, August 16. Her presentation sparked interest in the museum from other clubs who want to lend their support. Chantal Hevia, president of the Ybor City Museum Society, has also been invited to make presentations about the museum to other Rotary Club chapters.

The Ybor City Rotary Club has named the Tampa Baseball Museum as the beneficiary for its annual golf tournament on February 22, 2015, and the club is actively seeking additional ideas to raise funds for the museum.

Tampa Baseball Museum’s plumbing installed pro bono

More than 30 Central Florida Plumbing Academy (CFPA) students volunteered their time and skills to install plumbing at the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House under the guidance of their instructors on Tuesday, August 26.

The students are enrolled in the State Indentured Program in conjunction with Hillsborough County Schools and employed by local licensed plumbing companies. For students, the opportunity to install the museum’s plumbing provided on-the-job training hours, which are required to graduate from the four-year program. It was an excellent real-word teaching aid for instructors too.

The students worked in groups to cover different tasks. They practiced for months and the teams had to work together to address any issues that came up, said Joseph Gonzalez, chairman of the CFPA.

In support of the Academy’s generosity, Kohler Corporation and Bucks Plumbing Supply donated all the necessary materials.

CFPA students Robert Straub and Justin Reyes work on the back flow preventer.

Thank you to the following companies for providing the students and lending their time to this project:

McNatt Plumbing

Bill Jackson Plumbing

Alvarez Plumbing

Red Cap Plumbing

Llona Plumbing

Henry Gonzalez Plumbing

Jr. Long Inc.

RoyalAire Mechanical Services

Redi-Rooter Plumbing

Sun Plumbing & Septic Service

Tri-Care Services

Amo Cruz Plumbing

Tampa Bay Hi-Tec Evening School

Erwin Technical School

School District of Hillsborough County

Central Florida Plumbing Academy

The new plumbing is part of a continued effort to rehabilitate and renovate the 100-year-old Al Lopez house.

The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House is being developed by the Ybor City Museum Society, a nonprofit organization that preserves and promotes Ybor City’s cultural heritage and supports the Ybor City Museum State Park.